SEK Multicounty Health Department warns of grant cuts, outlines services to Bourbon County

Becky (Rebecca) Johnson, administrator and health officer for the SEK Multicounty Health Department, told Bourbon County commissioners that the agency learned only days earlier that it faces reductions in several grants and expects at least $75,000 in lost revenue.

"We were notified by the state even just this week that we would be receiving funding cuts from several of our grants that help fund us. So we are looking at at least $75,000 cut, already," Johnson said. She told commissioners she had about 30 minutes' notice before attending the meeting.

The department covers Allen, Anderson, Bourbon and Woodson counties and operates a range of services Johnson said are relied on locally, with WIC (Women, Infants and Children) described as the department's primary service. Johnson said the department handled 5,242 WIC appointments year-to-year and that Bourbon County's caseload is "close to 400." She described WIC as nutritional support for women and children and said the department performs same-day services where possible, including immunizations and pregnancy testing.

Johnson listed additional services the department provides: children's and adult physicals, TB skin tests, well-woman clinics, birth-control prescriptions, safe-sleep education, car-seat safety events, home visiting for mothers and infants, laboratory draws, seasonal vaccination clinics and disease investigation and follow-up. She said staff conducted 44 outreach events last year that reached at least 639 residents and that home-visitors completed roughly 463 visits.

Johnson said the department has cross-trained staff, contracts for specialized services (dietitians and other clinicians) to limit benefit costs, and pays for facility costs, insurance and certain benefits from its own budget. She noted that Bourbon County currently pays for the department's phone and internet service and that the department recently bought a building and covers its own maintenance costs.

She said the department is developing additional billable services intended to diversify revenue, including sexual assault nurse examiner services and Department of Transportation physicals, and is preparing staff and policies for those offerings. On short-term mitigation for the grant cuts, Johnson said the department will reduce travel, promotional items and conference attendance and increase virtual meetings where feasible.

Johnson said the department will submit its formal budget in October as usual and that her accountant was reworking the internal budget after the recent notice of grant reductions. She urged commissioners to ask follow-up questions and said she would provide an organizational chart and grant list to the commission upon request.

Commissioners asked for clarifying numbers and timing; Johnson said she would provide the county the formal budget and additional details once her accountant completed the restructuring.

Ending: Commissioners accepted Johnson's presentation and asked staff to circulate the department's formal budget when available. Johnson left commissioners with contact information and offered to answer follow-up questions by phone.